GENEVA: Houthi militias and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh have destroyed and looted more than 55 percent of health facilities in Yemen since September 2014, a Yemeni official said on Tuesday.
Health sector losses in Aden amounted to $7 million, Health Ministry Undersecretary Dr. Ali Al-Walidi said at a symposium on Yemen organized by the British Arab Center for Strategic Studies and Development in Geneva.
Al-Thawrah Hospital and the Swedish Children’s Hospital in the city of Taiz have been repeatedly attacked, he added.
Rebels “targeted the dialysis department and the cholera treatment center at the Republican Hospital in Taiz,” he said.
“The power and drainage network was stopped, and the hospital’s dialysis machines were destroyed.”
Emergency vehicles and primary health care programs in the ministry’s general office have been looted, Al-Walidi said.
“The legitimate Yemeni government has made great efforts to reduce the spread of epidemics, with the generous support of the brothers in the Arab alliance, particularly Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait,” he added.
Saudi Arabia has allocated $74.8 million to fight cholera, and 55 tons of medicines and medical supplies have been sent by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief), whose medical aid to Yemen is ongoing.
“KSRelief has repaired 16 hospitals and health facilities in Aden. It has equipped operation rooms and oncology centers with medical supplies and medicines for chronic and infectious diseases,” Al-Walidi said.
The UAE Red Crescent delivered $12 million to the World Health Organization (WHO) in Yemen to rehabilitate 24 hospitals in nine governorates, restore Khalifa Hospital in Socotra, and send medical equipment and supplies to Taiz, Marib, Hadramout and other governorates.
Yemen official: 55% of health facilities bombed, looted by rebels
Yemen official: 55% of health facilities bombed, looted by rebels
Israel PM holds coalition meeting after objecting to Gaza panel
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting of his ruling coalition partners on Sunday after objecting to the composition of a Gaza advisory panel
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting of his ruling coalition partners on Sunday after objecting to the composition of a Gaza advisory panel formed by the White House, according to an official and media reports.
The White House announced this week the setting up of a “Gaza Executive Board,” which would operate under a broader “Board of Peace” to be chaired by US President Donald Trump as part of his 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza.
The executive board, described as having an advisory role, includes Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi, alongside other regional and international officials.
Late on Saturday, Netanyahu’s office objected to the composition of the executive board.
“The announcement regarding the composition of the Gaza Executive Board, which is subordinate to the Board of Peace, was not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy,” the office of Netanyahu said.
“The Prime Minister has instructed the Foreign Affairs Minister to contact the US Secretary of State on this matter.”
It did not explain the reason for its objection, but Israel has previously objected strongly to any Turkish role in post-war Gaza, with relations between the two countries deteriorating sharply since the war began in October 2023.
In addition to naming Turkiye’s foreign minister to the executive board, Trump has also invited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to join the overarching Board of Peace.
Media reports said that leaders of the country’s ruling coalition were scheduled to meet on Sunday to examine the composition of the executive board.
“There is a meeting scheduled of the coalition at 10:00 am (0800 GMT),” the spokesman of Netanyahu’s Likud Party told AFP, declining to provide further details.
Alongside Likud, the coalition includes the Religious Zionist Party led by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) led by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
The White House said Trump’s plan would include three bodies: the Board of Peace, chaired by Trump; a Palestinian committee of technocrats tasked with governing Gaza; and the Gaza Executive Board, which would play an advisory role.
The Palestinian technocratic committee held its first meeting in Cairo on Saturday.
The diplomatic developments came as the United States said this week that the Gaza truce plan had entered a second phase, shifting from implementing a ceasefire to the disarmament of Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Israeli offensive in Gaza.
